Thing of the Dark
by RacoonFanboy
Summary: Harry is a Dark Angel and he has to deal with drama from the world and drama because of his nature.


Chapter 1

INTRO!! Please read before going down, so you don't get confused!! This has information that you will need to understand the story!!

Harry is above average intelligence because he is a Dark Angel. He has a strong sense of justice. Harry lives with the Weasleys because Dumbledore, being the informed wizard he always has been, knew that Harry would need to be raised away from muggles.

Dumbledore was the person who found Harry the night Lily and James died. He was going to check on them, since they were expressing concerns that they weren't feeling safe. Dumbledore found Harry crying and immediately picked him up in a blanket. He took one look at the ruined house, dead bodies on the floor, the wings that Harry now had and he shed a single tear. He then took Harry away to the Weasleys. He explained to a shocked Molly Weasley that the Potter's were dead and he was trying to find Harry a home. Molly, being good friends with Harry's parents, agreed at once. He came back to take care of the bodies and the Potter's last affairs after he dropped Harry off. Dumbledore came back the next day with several textbooks full of information on different creatures he believed Harry could be. Together they discovered Harry was a Dark Angel. Dumbledore then gave Molly many instructions on how to take care of Harry. He then gave Arthur to start building a tree house in the backyard immediately. Molly took care of Harry for as long as she could, but when four year old Harry attacked her son Ron, she decided that it was time to make him live in the tree house. Harry lived in that tree house, only going inside the Weasleys' house when he needed discuss something with the family. Molly Weasley kept Harry well supplied with books and materials to educate himself about everything except magic. She even went into his tree house to teach him when necessary. Molly taught Harry all that she could before he decided that he didn't need her. He then started his own studies. He soon started to learn other things that weren't need in everyday life, such as other languages, world history, mechanics, mathematics, and composition. He learned as much about the muggle world as he could. He became an encyclopedia of knowledge on just about any topic you could think of. Harry then started doing things to challenge himself, such as inventing his own languages, attempting to solve extremely difficult problems, and he began writing down all of the things he learned or created in a journal. By age 8 he had about three encyclopedias full of knowledge he had acquired. He also had about four thick volumes of things he had created, such as languages, worlds he used to write stories with, and ways he thought that someone could change the world.

Neville is just about as smart as Harry because as a young boy, probably about seven years old, his grandmother opened his eyes to many things and sparked Neville's young mind with books. Neville lives with his grandmother because his parents were killed by Voldemort's followers when he was about two years old. He grew up to be a very smart child. His grandmother started reading stories to him at age three. Neville loved to hear these stories, for his grandmother painted beautiful landscapes and realistic characters in his mind. She read him stories quite often. When Neville was about six years old his grandmother began to teach him to read. It was very difficult for Neville, because he couldn't see anything but the words on the page, he couldn't see how his grandmother painted such a lush landscape that Neville found so realistic that he believed it was real a lot of the time. Neville was so frustrated that he gave up many times and came back to it before it finally clicked. He found that if he would read the words to himself out loud, he could picture what was happening. He would read "The horse is red" then he would imagine a red horse. Once Neville had the hang of it, he quickly began to advance. He started reading children's books, but he soon lost patience. Why on earth would he want to read a story about a rabbit or a frog? He moved on to fairy tales and myths. He spent hours devouring these stories. His favorite story was Cinderella. He began to have his grandmother listen to him read. He would read her the books until he came to a word he didn't know or something he didn't understand, and then he would ask her.

Neville kept ahead of the average child the next few years by reading books that his grandmother would recommend. She would be very sly and give him a classic or something that would teach him something new. Neville loved her choices and by age nine he was making choices such as Black Beauty. He would read the books and then ask his grandmother about why people made the choices they did in the stories, such as harming animals or selling animals to bad people. His grandmother would explain that the world wasn't a fair place to live, and that many times a person was merely acting out what they were feeling inside, or they would sell animals for the best price that they could get because they needed to buy something their family couldn't live without, such as food or medicine. Thus Neville developed and became more inquisitive as he got older. He also had a pretty good understanding of the world; he knew that life wouldn't be fair to him, that he would have to fight for what he wanted, and that there was someone out there who would love him for he was.

Neville began to write his thoughts and views on issues he heard adults discussing in a small notebook. He would sometimes have his grandmother translate these discussions so that he could understand them and write his own ideas and opinions. Once he heard to men arguing if someone was raised in a good environment with parents who raised them to have good morals and not to commit crimes, then would it have any effect on whether the child would commit crimes or not. This puzzled Neville. He couldn't believe that if someone was taught something, then it might not make a difference later on. He wrote in his journal "If someone is raised with bad parents that don't obey the law or work to get anything in life, won't that have some effect on the child? I believe that it might, but it all depends on the child. Some children are considerate, kind, and smart, and they might be able to overcome having parents that have such an effect on them. On the other hand, some children are lazy, inconsiderate, and dumb. They might allow themselves to be sucked into this hole of a life." He had many entries like this, where he wanted to believe one thing, but he always had enough evidence that convinced him that anything is possible and he might be wrong. Neville was afraid of being wrong. He didn't want to have believed something was right when it was wrong, so he was usually didn't have an opinion. He tried to remain neutral.

Neville started hanging out with other children about age nine. He would go with his grandmother to parks or other public places with other children. Other children that met Neville felt that he was weird as soon as they met him, and they would either ignore him or they would walk away, finding someone else to play with. Thus Neville learned about cruelty and rejection. Neville would spend most of his time alone, with his books, or writing in his notebook.

**Author's Note**:

I am welcome to Suggestions and Ideas!! Please Give Me REVIEWS!! I need to know what you liked and didn't like!! I may go and change the story if I feel that I need to or if my fans would like me to!!

Note: I use **_OoOo_** to indicate the main storyline and ****'s to indicate information about Dark Angels and the characters!! 

**Disclaimer**: I don't own the HP universe or characters, I am just writing this story out of enjoyment. **Beware** if you are easily offended by the idea of two boys feeling an emotional connection or them hanging around each other a lot, because this story has Harry imprinting on Neville. That means that Harry will feel a need to always be with Neville or at least be in the same room. If they are separated, then Harry will feel unbearable pain. I don't know how far I will take Harry's need to be with Neville, but I will not be having any major slash until I let them get to know each other more. They are eleven years old for god's sakes. I will wait until they are a little older. At least age fourteen before I start anything romantic. I plan to rewrite the first five books plotline before I deviate and write my own storyline. PLEASE LET ME KNOW HOW YOU FEEL ABOUT THIS STORY!! I WANT INPUT FROM ANY READERS I GET!! **I quote on most of the school song and the sorting from the book: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, but I made it my own.**

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"Thing of the dark… wrapped in light"

"Melded… Meshed… stitched into form."

"He will end up destroying himself"

Harry awoke in a daze. He was sweating. His chest felt tight, constricting even. He forced himself to take slow even breaths. He didn't think he could take many more of these nightmares where he saw hooded figures speaking, but they weren't what scared him, it was what they said. He knew that they were talking about him. Harry got up and got dressed, taking great care to wear a T-shirt with a huge hole cut in the back that allowed his wings to move freely. Harry has a 5 ft 1 in. wing span, even though he is only 4 ft 8 in. tall. He needs the extra length to stay airborne.

Obviously, Harry is not a normal teenager. Harry is a Dark Angel. Dark Angels are a race of beings thought to be extinct in the Wizarding World. Dark Angels look like ordinary humans, except that they have huge black wings that are taller than they are, their facial features are more prominent and they have sharper senses. They have more evident cheekbones, striking eyebrows, a much higher IQ, irrational mood swings, and pointed teeth.

Dark Angels were thought to be extinct because muggles hunted them with a passion in the late 18th century because of the novel, Dracula. Muggles couldn't tell the difference between Dark Angels and vampires in those days because Dark Angels used to cut off their wings to blend in with muggles. Most Dark Angels couldn't be in close proximity with ordinary humans due to the fact they have dangerous mood swings quite often.

A Dark Angel who has found their mate doesn't have these irrational mood swings, because their mate gives them a sense of peace. They are their 'anchor' in this world. They are usually able to participate in normal activities if they are in close proximity with their mate, even if there are other people around.

Dark Angels have a funny way of falling in love. Dark Angels 'imprint' on someone. When they see their mate for the first time they feel as if they've been hit in the gut, and a streak of their hair turns irrevocably, irremovably white. They usually sink to their knees and can't breathe for a few minutes.

If Dark Angels were caught feeding they were usually killed on sight. A Dark Angel must feed on human blood once a week to maintain their existence, if they don't their body begins break down. Their skin starts to split apart very painfully into tiny pieces. Their skeleton then begins to grind into their muscles, eventually wearing the muscles completely away. The bones then begin to break through the skin, which by this time many chunks of skin have fallen away. The process begins to accelerate at this point and the Dark Angel's organs begin to fail, leading to complete shutdown of all bodily functions except breathing. The last thing to happen is that all the brain cells begin to start compressing. This causes intense discomfort that increases until the cells implode on themselves. Despite this, most Dark Angels have an aversion to drinking fresh human blood, because once they start drinking the blood, they cannot stop, for the smell and taste are too overwhelming to resist. Despite this, their mates usually attract them with their smell more than any ordinary human. They usually don't have any interest in any other human for the rest of their lifetime.

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Harry stood in front of the mirror to look at himself. He liked most of his features, except for his pointed teeth that only showed when he smiled. Harry seldom smiled for this reason. Harry left his tree house to have breakfast with the Weasleys. Despite the joy he felt when he flew; he glided down to the yard and began to think about why he had to stay in his tree house. The fact that he couldn't safely live with the Weasleys was something that angered him deeply. If Harry was tweaked in the slightest way, he could lose his temper and end up killing someone. Despite the mood swings being normal for Dark Angels, it aggravated Harry to no end. He hated not being able to be around anyone normal. In fact, Harry would be living with his only real relatives, the Dursleys, but his mood swings made him too dangerous; for his venom made wounds that could not be healed without the aid of magic. Thus, he needed to be living with a magical family so that someone would be able to heal the victim if Harry hurt someone, and Dumbledore trusted the Weasleys the most with such a task.

Harry's parents were brutally murdered by a sinister man the Wizarding World knew as "Voldemort". Harry's parents, Lily and James Potter were part of a team of resistance fighters know as Nemesis. Nemesis consisted of about 40 people that believed in equality and helping those who couldn't help themselves. Voldemort wanted to crush this resistance, and thus, he took out their leaders; Lily and James Potter. Voldemort killed little Harry without a second thought, but as he took Harry's life, he also took his own. For Harry was reborn, as a Dark Angel, and all dark magic and evil was purged within a 30 mile radius. Young Harry watched Voldemort suddenly become stiff, and crumple in a brief instant. Harry would remember the look on his face for his entire life. It would never leave his mind. Dark Angels are created by acts of cruel injustice involving the use of powerful dark magic. Not all people who are killed in this way are reborn, just wizards and witches, but even then not all wizards and witches are reborn this makes the ones who are reborn are special.

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Harry entered the kitchen of the Burrow and took a seat next to Bill, the Weasley he was closest to. Bill arrived a couple of days ago. Bill and Harry had become close over the years, because Bill had seen Harry's difference in appearance as something that the world would take as something that made him different, and he instilled in Harry that it was good to be different. Bill noticed Harry's composed posture and face and immediately nudged him in the ribs. "How are you?" he asked.

"I'm doing okay. I'm managing to keep my temper under control, but Fred and George aren't making it any easier with all of their yelling this morning because they couldn't find their stuff." Harry replied.

"Ah, just let them off today because they're just excited that they're going back to school. Which reminds me, how do you feel about starting school this year?"

Harry moaned in anguish "oh, don't remind me, just thinking about it makes me feel nauseas, I don't want to think about the damage I could cause being around thousands of people around me."

Bill laughed and said, "Don't worry; I know that you are too good of a person to do anything serious."

Harry laughed nervously and began to fidget in his chair while watching the family eat. Being a Dark Angel, he couldn't eat and it made him feel left out. If he did eat, the food that entered his stomach would come out the way it went in painfully because his stomach didn't contain acid, it contained many fibers, each coated with enzymes made to absorb the nutrients in blood that he needed to survive. The fibers in his stomach don't cross; they twist together in the middle and extend on the outside, toward his stomach. The Weasleys finished their breakfast and grabbed their trunks, which they had all packed the night before, with the exclusion of Fred and George. The Weasleys exited their home, but not before Molly stopped by her large medicine cabinet to grab a large head-sized vial, a hat, and an envelope. She waited for the rest of the family to exit the house before she handed Harry the vial and the other objects. She exited the house and as soon as she left, Harry pulled the stopper out of the head-sized vial and drank the horrendous synthesized blood.

Since Harry must drink human blood every day, Dumbledore convinced Severus Snape to make Harry some fake 'human' blood for him to drink once a week, so he doesn't have to drink blood from a real person. Harry still thinks it tastes disgusting.

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Harry grabbed his trunk and the whole family piled into an enchanted car so that they will all fit. He then put on his magical cap that hid his wings from the world. The whole family was abuzz with chatter. Harry sat the whole way there with his hands over his ears. He couldn't take all of the noise and remembering the night his parents died at the same time. He could barely take one of those things at a time, let alone both. Harry just sat the whole way there. He would rock back and forth it the pain got to be too intense. He was thankful when the car pulled up to the King's Cross train station. He scrambled out of the car and unloaded his trunk. He followed the rest of the Weasleys to platform nine and three-quarters. He waited for everyone else to walk through the barrier, for he had seen Percy, Fred, and George cross through the barrier before. He walked through the barrier and saw the most wondrous train he had ever laid eyes on. It was called, the Hogwarts Express. Harry carefully detached himself from a frantic Mrs. Weasley and climbed aboard the train. He found an empty compartment and set his stuff in it. He then positioned himself against the window where he could sleep comfortably and not sleep on his invisible wings. He was about to doze off when a strange boy with a confused expression on his face entered the compartment. Harry heard him come in, but he didn't open his eyes.

"Excuse me, is it okay for me to join you because everywhere else is full." The boy asked.

"Sure, I don't mind." Harry replied without opening his eyes. He had a nagging suspicion that the boy was afraid of him. He felt waves of terror crash over him. This upset him, for he would rather the young boy be afraid him as a whole, than to be afraid of the illusion he portrayed to the world. He took off his cap and opened his eyes to take a look at his newfound acquaintance. The boy let out a small gasp before he could stop himself. Harry felt equally astounded as he stared into the face of a beautiful boy. The boy had the most beautiful eyes with the deepest color of blue Harry had ever seen. Harry sat with his mouth agape for about four seconds before it happened. Harry doubled over, as if he was punched in the stomach. He sank to his knees on the floor. He felt a burning sensation in his stomach and an equally intense sensation on his head. He sank further and was soon holding himself up on his hands and knees. He felt dizzy and his face felt flushed. Before Harry noticed, the boy was by his side asking him "Are you all right".

Harry felt embarrassed and quickly replied "I think so, I must have fallen over or something"

The boy narrowed his eyes and said in an insulted tone, "I knew that, I was asking you if you were okay, and I also insinuated that I wanted to know why you fell over"

Harry took a deep breath before answering "Of course, I'm sorry… I didn't mean to insult you, I just didn't understand. May I ask you your name?"

The boy looked taken aback, and it clearly showed when he stuttered "T-That's fine, m-my name is Neville Longbottom."

"Well Neville, I am obviously not your average kid… I am a Dark Angel. I doubt that you've heard of them. Anyway, I used to be a human before my family and I were brutally murdered. I was somehow reincarnated as what I am now."

"Murdered, wow" Neville waited for Harry to elaborate, but Harry ignored this. He would rather not tell that story.

Harry took a breath before stating "You asked me why I fell over, but I need to know what you know about 'imprinting' ".

Neville thought for a moment before answering "I have no idea what that is, it never came up in any of my readings."

Harry snorted "I doubt that it would be, but I believe it's when a person or animal finds their mate. A psychic connection of some sort is usually established between the two individuals involved."

Neville sat still for a moment while he took in this information, he took another moment before answering. "What do you mean mate?"

Harry felt a rush of fear take him. He didn't want to lie, but he didn't want to be blunt about the way worded this. He opened his mouth and shut it several times before he answered "I believe that you as mates we are meant to help each other bring out good attributes in each other and help each other achieve things that the other never dreamed of. I also believe that a mental connection was built. I doubt that it is a two way connection, but it is possible. I will have you know that even if affects both of us… it will affect me more than you.

Neville pondered these things for a moment before asking "How will it affect you?"

Harry replied "I really don't know, but I do know that I am already more in tune with your emotions."

Neville replied slowly "Does that mean that you can feel what I feel right now?"

Harry answered "Not to that extent, but I can tell when you become extremely angry, confused, scared, or any strong emotion."

Neville asked another question in a shy manner "Does this mean that we're a 'couple' sort of or that we're meant to be each other's 'princes' like in Cinderella?"

Harry said "In a way, but we'll take it slow so that neither of us feel wrong or awkward."

Neville sat with a strange look on his face. He opened his mouth several times as if to answer but thought better of it. He finally voiced some concerns or misgivings about Harry that were bothering him, "Why are you being so nice to me? Normally people ignore me. That makes it hard to believe that someone could even like me, let alone be 'destined' to love me for any amount of time, let alone forever."

Harry flustered, voicing emotions that he had never spoken aloud before. He also spoke of the new emotions that were taking a hold of him as he sat there. "I want to be nice because you are perfect in every way! You make me feel like I am actually living for the first time instead of keeping to myself as if I was intruding on the world. You make me feel like this is my world too! You are irresistible! I can't help but to like everything about you! The way you move, the way you speak, even the way you smell!"

At this confession Neville gave Harry the first of many smiles that they would share. Neville had a goofy grin that made Harry smile back. As he did, he realized that he was having the longest conversation he had ever had in his life. He usually ended up screaming at someone if he was in a room with them for over a couple of minutes. Harry pondered this for a moment before he gave up trying to understand it. He and Neville had a special bond. He, for the first time in his life (or Re-Life) felt what it is to be 'normal'. He didn't have mood swings, he didn't have depressing thoughts, and he could look to the future for once and he could see a light at the end of what used to be an endless tunnel.

The Hogwarts Express continued on its trip. Harry and Neville spent their time getting to know each other better. Harry and Neville discussed many things ranging from their home lives to their views on life. Harry loved hearing Neville's views on any issue because they were fresh, new, and they always had a hidden insight. He didn't like that Neville was extremely indecisive. He couldn't make Neville see that if he didn't take a stand on something that he was just as wrong as taking one side that he didn't believe in. The boys spent hours trying to see into one another's minds. They tried to get a look into the other person, and when they did, they liked what they would see. They would then come to realize that they were starting to like themselves more also. Harry was in pure ecstasy. He could be himself with a friend, and of all friends it could be, it was a friend who smelled simply delightful. Harry refrained from closing the distance between Neville, because he didn't want to make things bad or make Neville feel awkward, but Harry could only resist for so long before he slid to the seat next to Neville, placing his arm around him lightly. He began inhaling Neville's intoxicating aroma. Neville made Harry feel distracted, he couldn't see what was passing in the window. He couldn't hear when the driver announced that they would be arriving at Hogwarts shortly.

Neville felt at ease when he was around Harry. When Harry switched seats to be closer to him, he felt more hopeful than he should, and he knew that. He felt as if he should lay his head on Harry's shoulder and go to sleep. Neville took a deep breath to steady himself and slow his racing heart. He was just about to be completely calm when Harry took a hold of his hand and smelled it. This made his whole body kick into overdrive! He felt shivers running all over his body, and his spine started to tingle. He felt a dull warmth that emanated from Harry's body. He wanted to embrace Harry and if he hadn't been interrupted by the train slowing down, he would have. Harry and Neville both sighed inwardly. When the train pulled up to the school, Harry took Neville arm in arm to make sure that they weren't separated. He put his magical hat back on, so as to not draw attention to himself, and they walked over to a huge man about three times normal size that was directing everyone where to go. Neville felt a flare of annoyance when Harry put on the hat. He felt as if Harry should want attention. He didn't know why, but he did. He decided that he would talk to him about it later. He turned his gaze back to the huge man that had a huge smile on his face. The man had a voice that rumbled like the purring of a lion as he directed the younger students where to go by shouting "Firs years, firs years this way". Harry dragged a slightly trembling Neville down to the lake, following the huge man. Harry politely steered Neville into one of the many boats that awaited them. The two boys were soon joined by Seamus Finnigan and Terry Boot. The boys made small talk as they traveled to the castle and they quickly became friends. Harry noticed intuitively that Seamus was a reserved child that would open up if he would hang out with Neville more, because he and Neville had a lot in common. The two of them loved reading, gardening, and they loved to be with other people. Harry liked Terry too, because he had a nice disposition and a large vocabulary.

Neville was having the time of his life! He felt like the boat was spinning in circles! In such a short time, he had found a boy that could be his soul mate, made two friends, and he felt like he was perfect. Neville was feeling wonderful until he saw someone that stuck fear into his heart. He didn't even know who he was. Harry was instantly affected, he turned very slowly to see what was scaring Neville. It turned out to be a blond boy. Harry put his hand on Neville's shoulder and asked him "Who is he". Neville couldn't answer, because he didn't even know himself. He didn't know why the boy affected him so. Harry could feel Neville's confusion and didn't press the matter.

Neville was terrified! He felt like his heart was encased in ice. Why did that blond boy make him feel so angry and scared? The boy put him on edge. Neville began to avoid him the best that he could. All students in Harry's group were brought into a hallway with two huge doors at the end. They stood with the huge man until a tall, strict looking woman came through the doors. The moment she came in, Neville was instantly shaken from whatever hold the boy had on him. She waved her hand at the man to signal for him to leave the room. When he left, the woman spoke "I am Professor McGonagall, and I will be one of your teachers while you are at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizadry. We are about to begin the start of term feast, but before you can sit down, you must be sorted. There are four houses in Hogwarts, and they will sort of be your family, while you are here. The four houses are Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. Each house is named after one of the four founders of this school." She paused and she opened the doors. She spoke again "Please form two lines and follow me."

The students followed her into the Great Hall. The older students were all talking quietly, talking about their summers and how it felt being back. Professor McGonagall walked to the front table briskly and grabbed a dirty hat off of the table and set it on a stool she magicked up. She took a seat and the whole school went silent, watching the hat. The hat opened near the brim and began to sing

"Oh, you may not think I'm pretty,  
But do not judge by what you see,  
I'll eat myself if you can find  
A smarter hat than me.  
I will not lie, I do not cheat, I just want to help achieve great ends. So try me on and I will tell you  
Where you ought to be.  
If you belong in Gryffindor, happiness is close to your heart,  
If something is wrong with how you feel, it will tear you apart.  
If Hufflepuff is where you should be,  
Then you will be just and loyal, but not all matters end without great turmoil.  
The keen and cunning people of tomorrow flock to me like bees,  
Ravenclaw will take them all and give them a leader to follow.  
You may belong in Slytherin if friendship is what you long,  
But beware of trickery, for they don't have much sense of right and wrong.  
All of these things most will not see, but others will, and that's what you need.

Professor McGonagall stood up and spoke after a great round of applause for the hat. "When I call your name, please come up and try on the hat." She unrolled a list and began to read off a couple of names. "Abbott, Hannah" A pink-faced girl with blonde pigtails stumbled out of line, put on the hat, which fell right down over her eyes, and sat down. A moment's pause and then the hat shouted "HUFFLEPUFF!" The table on the right cheered and clapped as Hannah went to sit down at the Hufflepuff table. Harry saw a ghost waving merrily at her.

"Bones, Susan!" was the next to be called "HUFFLEPUFF!" shouted the hat again, and Susan scuttled off to sit next to Hannah.

"Boot, Terry!" Terry stiffened and walked to the hat. He sat for about a minute before the hat proudly declared "RAVENCLAW!" The table second from the left clapped this time; several Ravenclaws stood up to shake hands with Terry as he joined them. Harry and Terry shared a rare, meaningful smile as Terry passed Harry. They knew that they would be good friends even if they were in different houses.

A couple of other students were sorted into their houses. Then it came; "Potter, Harry"  
As Harry stepped forward, whispers broke out like hissing fires all over the hall. Harry straightened his posture, removed his magical hat, which caused a low drone of chatter from the students, unfolded his wings, and he walked briskly to the hat. He sat on the stool and placed the hat on his head. He flapped his wings a couple of times before folding them in. He sat for what seemed like ten minutes. The hat sounded bemused when it finally spoke "Hmm, difficult, very difficult. Plenty of courage, I see. Not a bad mind, either. There's talent, oh my goodness, yes - and a nice thirst to prove yourself, now that's interesting ... So where shall I put you?" Harry didn't really care where he went, as long as he was in the same house as Neville. The hat must have been reading his thoughts because it whispered very softly in his ear "You care about him more than you should. Hmm…this will be quite interesting! I will be looking forward to seeing how you turn out." The hat twitched a final time before shouting "Gryffindor"

Neville was the next one called. He walked over to the hat and placed it upon his head. He closed his eyes, fearing that he would end up in a different house than Harry. The hat took quite a bit of time deciding before it declared "Gryffindor".

Harry was relieved that they would be together. He had Neville take a seat next to him. He was full of blissful joy. He was so happy that he pinched himself several times to make sure that he wasn't dreaming. When he was sure he was awake and this was really happening, he decided to sit and watch Neville eat. He found it quite amusing. Neville made pleased smiles after every couple of bites of food that he enjoyed. He would also raise his eyebrows if a flavor was startling, or strong. He didn't even know that he did it. Harry caught himself staring at Neville; he was even trying to smell him. Since Harry and Neville's situation was so delicate, he didn't want anyone to find out until they were both ready, because he didn't want it to become awkward. He threw himself a little too suddenly into an animated conversation with Seamus, who ended up being a Gryffindor as well as Harry and Neville. Neville detected the change in Harry's behavior and made a mental note to ask him about it later. By the time the feast was over, the headmaster of the school stood and raised his hands for silence. He introduced himself as Albus Dumbledore. He gave out a few start of term notices and then he conducted the school song, which was very fun for the entire school to sing because everyone picked their own tune and pace. Neville couldn't remember the words after they had finished, but he didn't care. He had other important issues on his mind. He just wanted to get to his room and talk to Harry. He wouldn't bring it up, but he had a nagging suspicion that Harry wasn't telling him something. Neville was so tired as he went up the many staircases to his dormitory, that he didn't notice the moving portraits. He didn't even hear what the password to get in was. He gathered with the other students in his house to look at the room list. He saw that he was on the top floor with Harry and Seamus. He rushed up the stairs, to find his room at the top floor. He gasped in shock when he saw the beds. There were 3 beds to a room, and they each had curtains around their beds. They even had their own nightstands! Neville was eager to see Harry, so he grabbed his clothes, which had been unpacked and put into his nightstand for him, and pulled the curtains to change. He put his dirty clothes on the floor beside his bed and stared at the ceiling until he heard Harry and Seamus come in. He lifted his head to watch them come in. Harry was saying "I really got a good impression from the headmaster, he seemed to have great insight." He paused to look at Neville giving him a meaningful stare that told Neville he would talk to him after Seamus had gone to sleep. Neville gave an over exaggerated yawn and said "wow, today's been a long day. I'm bushed and I am going to sleep. See you guys in the morning."

Seamus replied "I will join you because I am ready for bed too." Seamus then changed behind his curtain and went to bed. Harry got ready after Seamus did and then he laid in his bed, pretending to sleep. After he was sure that Seamus was asleep, he got up and joined Neville in his bed. They lay in front of each other, just enjoying the sight of each other's face. Harry was the first to break the silence. "Why are you so afraid of being wrong?"

Neville asked "What do you mean?"

Harry voiced his concern "If you have two choices, then you usually try not to pick one side. You end up being neutral instead of just picking one. You are too afraid of being wrong and believing in something that's wrong. I believe that if you don't take a stand or take a side that you automatically made the wrong choice."

Neville countered "I don't want to believe something all of my life and then find out that I was wrong and I went through my whole life believing in a lie. I know that you can understand that because you walk around portraying a lie."

Harry sighed "I just don't want everyone's eyes to be on me, when they can be looking at someone who belongs in this world. I want them to be looking at someone who deserves it."

That put something into perspective for Neville. The more he thought about it, the more it made sense to him. He understood that Harry felt like an outsider to this world, and he knew that Harry didn't want to take away from someone else, but he knew that Harry deserved part of the world too. He decided to work on getting Harry to take part in the world as if it was his too. He let the matter drop; the boys looked at each other until Neville fell asleep in the early hours of the morning. Then Harry went to his bed and pulled out a few pieces of paper. He began biting his finger as he thought about how to write these letters. He was writing and rewriting long into the night. He eventually had two letters that he was satisfied with giving to Dumbledore and Molly Weasley in the morning while everyone else was at breakfast. He also wrote a note to Neville telling him that he wouldn't be at breakfast because he had some errands to attend to. He set the alarm on his watch to go off with plenty of time to put Neville's note on his nightstand and go down to talk to Professor McGonagall in the morning. He put the notes on his nightstand along with his glasses and drifted off into a sleep without nightmares.


End file.
